Working parents are in the dark about child care benefits

COVID-19 has been a stress test for working parents, who say they are feeling isolated and unsupported both in and out of the office.

More than half of working parents say the pandemic has been the most stressful time in their lives, according to a report by KinderCare Education, an early childhood education center. Forty-seven percent of working parents say their employer does not understand the strain they are under.

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As employees navigate the next stages of the pandemic, mental health and the well-being of their families is top priority. But the benefits in place to support them in the workplace are falling short. Forty-one percent of employees are not aware of the benefits their employers are offering to help them, the report found.

“The pandemic has brought a unique set of challenges for parents and many have been constantly balancing concerns for their child’s health and well-being with the need to work and provide for their family,” Tom Wyatt, CEO of KinderCare Education, said in a release. “Parents need quality child care now. This is a clear opportunity for employers and the government to step up to support them when they need it most.”

Working parents say their children interrupt 13 hours of their workweek, up from 9 hours pre-pandemic, the report found. Parents are concerned that this is impacting their ability to succeed at work, as 46% of parents say the pandemic has put their career on hold and 22% of working mothers say they may have to quit their job within six months to care for their children.

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Sixty-two percent of parents surveyed by Kindercare said that employers should offset the cost of child care benefits. Providing support has been an on-going effort for employers through the pandemic: PwC, Maven, Microsoft, Cleo and other organizations have introduced more time off, flexible scheduling and backup child care reimbursements.

“This conversation about parents and working families was growing in urgency with employers [pre-pandemic],” says Sarahjane Sacchetti, CEO of Cleo, a family benefits platform. “COVID has really cemented that this is going to be a top strategy for employers moving forward.”

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Employers need to be communicating their benefits and work to provide a single solution for what’s available, Sacchetti says. Making benefits accessible and robust will help prevent parents from falling off the career track.

“Family support has become very fragmented with multiple vendors, but one platform will drive better engagement and utilization,” she says. “COVID has accelerated an already existing trend that we just weren't paying as close attention to as we should have. This is as much of a cultural issue as a benefits issue for many companies.”